


The End Of It All

by cherrytruck



Category: Samurai Warriors, Sengoku Basara, Sengoku Jidai | Sengoku Period RPF, 天下統一恋の乱 | Sakura Amidst Chaos | Samurai Love Ballad (Visual Novel)
Genre: Gen, I took a few liberties so it's probably not historically accurate, actually I wrote this with shogun: total war in mind but it's not a fandom tag, ending is a fatality, feel free to imagine any preferred sengoku depiction, mitsuhide might be hallucinating but maybe he also got bad karma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 00:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13963281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrytruck/pseuds/cherrytruck
Summary: Mitsuhide's last moments at Yamazaki when he realizes he has lost it all.





	The End Of It All

His vision for the future crumbles right in front of him. His slaughtered men paint the river red and the sound of gunshots become louder and louder as the enemy troops draw closer, trampling on his fallen troops. The Akechi banner that Mitsuhide carries on his back suddenly feels much heavier; his shoulders begin to ache.

Even his finest generals begin to call the command to rout. It is a futile attempt for many of the well-trained men, who are fatally wounded from arrows fired from afar. Behind the large enemy forces, Mitsuhide can still make out the distant silhouette of Hideyoshi on the other side of the river, guarded in a well-defended formation. His army looks as if it is on standby, awaiting for further commands.

Mitsuhide cannot afford himself the same luxury. Despite having been an equal to Hideyoshi - no, perhaps even higher - during his service in the Oda clan, it only takes one fatal decision for Mitsuhide to destroy the well-respected reputation he had spent a long time building up. Mitsuhide’s grip of the battle falters, and his honour falls even further. There is no formation in his army anymore. They have become scattered men who have forgotten what they had trained for from their whole lives.

“Everyone must rally! Remember what you are fighting for!” Mitsuhide rides his horse among the foot soldiers, holding up a white fan to signal that he intends for them to stay and not to give up on hope. But Mitsuhide’s command is long lost in the sea of blood and shattered troops, and it is clear that Mitsuhide himself is no longer seen as a legitimate authority, no matter how much the heavy Akechi flag towers over the men.

_ “Our time is no longer here, Mitsuhide.” _

“What?!” Mitsuhide hears a voice behind him, but when he makes his horse turn around, there is nobody there, only a trail of fallen men who had tried to run. The river has now become even smaller, and Mitsuhide only realizes now that in his attempt to march by his men to rally them together, he has instead followed their path in leaving the bloodied battlefield.

It is too late to go back now. If Mitsuhide goes back there, he knows that he would die for sure. To run is a great dishonour, but he understands that a commanding samurai is of more value alive than dead.

He flees, riding his horse into the forests to conceal himself from the arrows that may soon come in their direction as Hideyoshi will no doubt claim more of the battlefield territory. Mitsuhide tries to ignore the harsh brushes of leaves and branches against his face. He still wonders where the voice was from, but he could have sworn that it sounded like…

Mitsuhide’s heart skips a beat as he sees a figure in the distance, standing there in front of him. He continues to charge, but the closer he gets, the sooner he realizes - it’s Oda Nobunaga.

“Milord!” Mitsuhide says as if a reflex reaction - even if he later has to remind himself, it was he who betrayed Nobunaga and was responsible for his death. But if that is the case, why is Nobunaga…?

_ “Mitsuhide...our era has come to an end.” _

Just as Mitsuhide draws closer to the figure of Nobunaga, he reaches out-

-and suddenly, something sharp impales him from the front, and the last thing he feels is the blade escaping his throat.


End file.
